Going to be flying Virgin Atlantic to London in the winter. Just wondering which airplane is better to schedule my flight on, the 343, 346 and 744. Never flown the 340's but have flown the 744 numerous times on other airlines. Which is a better choice? I am inclined to book the 346 because it is brand new, slightly rare, and supposedly has the new Virgin IFE. Any suggestions? Also if I fly the airbuses, any suggestions as to seats?

My first intercontinental flight and at the same time my first widebody flight should have been in a VS 747 from LHR to LAX in late -99. To make a long story short I missed the connection at LHR but was very lucky to be on the next flight that day. I was lucky but also disappointed, I wanted to fly a 747 not a 343. Once in the air I loved that aircraft more than anything else I had ever flown. Actually that's when I became really interested in aviation. The service was outstanding and I was amazed by the flight entertainment system.

Two weeks later I flew CO from LAX to RDU via IAH. Didn't make the connection in IAH because the first flight was diverted to PHX due to a pregnant woman. I hope everything turned out well for her!

After some more CO flights I was about to fly a VS 747 from BOS to LHR. This flight was almost 24 hours delayed because of a break problem. When we finally took off I was surprised that it was so noisy. The 343 had been much more pleasant and relaxing to fly. No, sorry, I don't know if I flew a 744 or which type of 747 it was.

My advice is clear: Choose an Airbus flight. It's much more relaxing. An extra bonus is that the chance of getting an isle or window seat is much higher in a 340 than in a 747. If 346 is an option I would have chosen that one. As you say it is rare and as PVD757 says "You will have something to talk about".

How can I say VS has good service? All I really can compare to is the service when I made a round trip with UA 777 from LHR to ORD as a part of a longer trip from GOT to SAN. The service sucked. The flight attendant wasn't just not nice, she was really rude. We all looked at each other several times confirming that we all thought she was behaving very bad. I tried to get other attendants attention but that was absolutely impossible.

Although my heart beats for the 330/340 series I have to admit that the 777 is a great ac.

If you wonder: Yes I missed the connecting flight to GOT at LHR on my way back from BOS.

I'd go for the 600 if I were you. They all have the new v:port video-on-demand IFE and like you say they are a bit rare. Currently only the VS9/10 is planned on a 600 although the VS45/46 is showing as a 600 from the end of March 2004.

Thanks for the advice. I will try and schedule at least one leg on the 346. I have flown the 332 before on Swissair a number of years ago. I remember it being a relatively nice airplane although I felt a bit cramped as opposed to the 777, which I happen to love flying. Are the 343/346 the same or is it just a matter of which airline you fly on?

But with regards to IFE, you'll experience the best IFE in the sky (if all the features work which at the moment they don't so you won't), but you'll be greatly entertained by a choice of over 50 movies and CDs with Audio and Video on Demand and a 9" screen in Economy.

Does anyone know the 346 schedule for sure? Someone mentioned that the 346 flies 045/046, but according to the schedule I just looked at the 346 is on 10/9 and 45/46 is still a 343. Can anyone confirm either of these?